


Decisions, Decisions, Decisions....

by est_in_manus



Series: Latch [3]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: College, College Admissions, F/M, Lydia makes decisions, M/M, Prequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-23
Updated: 2015-04-23
Packaged: 2018-03-25 11:18:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3808375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/est_in_manus/pseuds/est_in_manus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>Four envelopes stared at Lydia from their place on the kitchen table...</i> </p>
<p>
  <b>A Prequel to Now I've Got You (in My Space)</b>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Decisions, Decisions, Decisions....

Four envelopes stared at Lydia from their place on the kitchen table. She’d been sitting in front of them for almost an hour, unsure if she wanted to open them. The names alone scared her, even though she was the one that applied to them. Really, Lydia had nothing to worry about, at least for three of them. She definitely had the grades and the GPA high enough to go almost anywhere. Still, she probably shouldn’t have sent in her applications for the early acceptance term. It just meant she had more time to freak out about which college she really wanted to go to. 

Luckily no one was home to hover over her, especially Stiles. He’d probably say something along the lines ‘follow your heart, Lydia,’ and she really didn’t need to hear that just yet. 

“Okay quit being stupid, Lydia,” She told herself. “Just start with the obvious ones first.” 

Lydia reached for the two nearest envelopes from UC Berkeley and Stanford University. Naturally, the letters inside noted her acceptance for the following year. They were obvious choices since they were close to home, neither being much farther than a half a day’s drive, but did Lydia want to stay in California? She had the chance to go nearly anywhere, shouldn’t she take advantage of that?

She picked up the next envelope that came all the way from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, her mother’s Alma Mater. If Julita could go out of state, why couldn’t Lydia? The letter inside also announced she was accepted to their university. That was three out of four and she was feeling pretty excited, though not looking forward to having to choose. 

The last one was the most daunting. It was a last minute decision to apply to the university, made after she changed her career path. She was always set on studying mathematics, just because it made sense to her. Lately, though...her heart was set on something different. Not too far off from math, but still a completely different field. 

Hand a little shaky, she picked up the fourth and final envelope from the table and turned it over, making sure it wasn’t some kind of joke. She took a deep breath and stabbed her nail through the top, pulling it across to open it up. 

 

_Ms. Lydia A. Martin_

_I am pleased to inform you that the Committee on Admissions has voted to offer you a place here at Harvard University…_

 

The letter fell from Lydia’s hands and back on the table. 

“I…” She whispered. “I was accepted. Holy crap I was accepted to Harvard.” 

She jumped up and screamed, thankful no one else was home. She couldn’t stop laughing and smiling, proud of herself for being able to get into an Ivy League. 

“I was accepted to Harvard!” She shouted. 

She sat down and caught her breath and that was when the reality really hit her. 

“Oh no,” she said. “I was accepted to Harvard.” 

Harvard was obviously an amazing school, it would be foolish to turn it down, but Harvard was also located all the way in Massachusetts, too. Massachusetts was all the way across the United States. She would be thousands of miles away from her family. She wouldn’t be able to see Stiles, Erica, Derek, or Isaac whenever she wanted to like she could if she went to Berkeley or Stanford. 

She stared at all of her acceptance letters in frustration. It was obvious what the choice should be, why was she struggling so much with it? 

If she went to UC Berkeley or Stanford she would still get a decent education and it would be much cheaper. She would be mere hours away from Beacon Hills so she could visit as much as she wanted, but would she be happy at either school? 

MIT was also a really good school, her mom went to it for Literature, but would it be worth the money for the area Lydia wants to focus in? She loved her mom very much, but did she want to follow completely in her footsteps?

Then there was Harvard, the top of the top, an Ivy League institution. She remembers hearing Allison say if she had the choice she would have went to Harvard in an instant. She was sure Derek and Stiles probably would agree with her. 

She couldn’t even use money as an excuse not to go since she was eligible for numerous scholarships, she could get away with paying close to nothing. On the other hand, masters programs were better at Harvard, too. Especially the one she wanted to take on after she achieved her Bachelor’s. Was she ready to be that far away from her family, though? It took so long for her to feel like she had one again, is she ready to give that up so quickly? 

 

Lydia heard a car door slam and the muffled voices of her sister and Isaac. Quickly, she took her pen and marked no on three of the acceptance letters and yes to the last. She enclosed them in their respected return envelopes and stuffed everything in her bag just in time for the front door to open. 

“Lyds, Uncle Stiles said don’t worry about dinner. They’re gonna pick something up.” Erica called. 

Lydia stood up and spun around with a big, fake smile on her face. 

“Oh good, I have loads of homework anyway. What’s for dinner?” She asked. 

“Probably Pizza or Chinese,” Isaac said “They’re checking out a possible wedding venue. Derek had me pick up Erica.” 

“You mean he let you drive his car? I’m amazed. I’m not even allowed to drive his car.” 

“It’s only because I can’t drive a stick so Stiles’ was out of the question. Hey, are you okay? You look a little stressed.” 

“Huh? Me? Oh I’m fine! Just, you know, senior year and all.” She said. 

“Uncle Stiles told you not to take so many AP classes, whatever those are.” Erica said, setting her homework on the table to start on. 

“Advanced Placement, bug,” Lydia said. “I’m fine, I promise.” 

“Okay then,” Isaac shrugged. “But if I find you nursing a migraine later you owe me ten bucks.” 

“Deal. Hey, can I ask you kind of a random question?” 

“Uh, sure?” 

“If you had to choose between family and education, which would it be?” She asked. 

Isaac raised an eyebrow at her then looked between her and Erica. 

“Family, without a doubt.” He said finally. “It sounds irresponsible, but one’s more obtainable than the other, you know?” 

“Yeah…” Lydia sounded distant. “I’m gonna head upstairs for a little bit, do you mind helping Erica with homework?” 

“Nah, that’s fine. I can do mine too. Feel better, yeah?” Isaac said. 

“I will, see you guys in a bit.” 

Lydia grabbed her bag and headed upstairs. 

 

Later that night, when everyone was preoccupied with other things, she snuck out the front door with her four envelopes and creeped down to the mail box in front of the driveway. She took another look over the sealed envelopes, each one going to a different place than the other. Four universities were going to hear from her, but only one could be accepted. 

She took a look back at her house, finding Erica’s window easily and watching the silhouette of her little sister dancing around in the lamplight. She looked back at the mailbox and shoved the letters inside, fighting the urge to stall any longer. Hopefully Stiles wouldn’t be too upset that she applied and accepted a college without even telling him, but she knew he had a lot on his plate with planning a wedding and keeping a family afloat. 

She turned around and walked back to the house, hoping she made the right choice. 

Only time would tell…

**To be continued…**

**Author's Note:**

> So the bad news is I haven't started working on Part 3 yet, but I have it all plotted out! This came to me about two days ago and I couldn't not write it. 
> 
> Just to give you a taste one of the fun things that will be dealt with in Part 3 ;]. 
> 
> Which school do you guys think Lydia chose? What do you think she decided to go to college for instead of mathematics? 
> 
> I'm also working on an Allydia fic that should be finished HOPEFULLY by the beginning of May. (next week?) 
> 
> I'm excited for that! Something I haven't done before! 
> 
> Hope this finds you all well, I miss you! haha. 
> 
> Comments and Feedback are always welcome. 
> 
> You will always find me [here](http://est-in-manus.tumblr.com)! 
> 
> -John


End file.
